Sonnar2
Well-known
It looks like RFF becoming the "unofficial" OM fan club in the last few months, so here a couple of questions for you. But not take it too seriously... 
From a casual OM user, not a "believer":
My first OM camera was the OM-4.
Latest modell, ten years produced, quite cheaply available, the ASA ring on the "right" place for guys like me who uses "other" cameras too - OK, the shutter speed ring is stil on the wrong place. Still right decision.
BUT: Do you really use all that metering stuff? "high" and "shadow" and "spot"? And if you do, how to manage it to photograph other than slow moving items than buildings, trees, or snakes?
I have difficulties to see all that micro-symbols below the finder, and never know in which "mode" the metering actually is. Except of course, I use "normal" metering. Or "manual" mode. (An OM1 would be enough for that) Or Automatic manual override (my finger nails are gone when using that feature, and perhaps a whole film is wrongly exposed 2 stops because you accidently set, or keep it wrong)
By another accident, I found out that the finder LIGHTNING is no longer working. (I'm sure it works when I bought the camera). It's one of very few SLR who urgently need a LIGHT in the finder. Mainly because the scales and signs are THAT small you barely can see them in bright daylight. Yes, scales. Ever had a car with that odd type of filling speedometer, no needles? Hot stuff in the 1950's, out of fashion about 1975 (I think VOLVO made one of the last). They ceased it for a reason: it's hard to see how fast the car actually is. It's also hard to see how fast the shutter actually should be on a camera. Bad luck that you MANUALLY engage the light, and the trigger is badly placed.
So starting on afternoon, or when taking pictures indoor, or in any other situation when exposure is critical, you see less or even NOTHING about it. Seriously, this camera has by a margin the WORST finder information system of all SLRs I know.
Plus: it eats batteries like a horse. Of all my 70 cameras this is the only one I need to reload batteries nearly EVERY TIME I go taking pictures with it. (Somedays, it is placed two months in a dark case. NO other camera will eat batteries under that conditions). To bad they lost the OFF switch! Or does Olympus made it even smaller than all the other micro fingernail tip contacts, that no user detected it in the last twenty years?
Bad luck too, the whole camera don't work without batteries. It lifts mirror (spoil one film frame) and then got stuck! When it happens the first time you think the whole camera is stucked and shutter needs to be replaced because NO other camera with dead batteries acts that way. all other just do nothing, decently saying "Sorry I cannot...." - this one screams "NOT ENOUGH BATTERY, IDIOT! CHOOOOKE!!" I'm sure I will hear that if I had the noiser activated (I deactivated this feature in order to save my batteries and nerves, due to the owners manual which I naturally own, and be able to read and understand)
Too bad, Olympus made everything in a different way than standard, say Pentax or Nikon. Too bad, making most of it worse than standard.
Was it TEN YEARS they build that odd camera, or even more? (TI included) ? Please understand me right: except the finder lightning, nothing may be defective with the camera. It just isn't right by design.
What was it, a serious case of unconvincibilty, like it was with Zeiss-Ikon?
Other companies doing it that way long enough may haven't survived completely. Good luck, just the OM system died, Olympus still alive. Make no mistake: film camera production wasn't ceased by a higher instance, just because customers in millions said "thanks, enough". Cosina still make film cameras with "new" (?) modells. Very sad for some of the best (performance-size/weight ratio) SLR lenses. But not so sad for very odd camera bodies. Too bad that a OM lens will not fit to a nice simple NIKON FE-2. If they had build such a camera maybe the OM series would be still in production.
I got a OM-1 these days..
*) I don't know if you native English speaking people have the term, "featuritis". For us, it simply means "too much of everything, or "every single engineer placed in the project had realized his personal highlight", either a lack of management or a "put this feature into it, too, it will attract a few additional buyers" attitude
From a casual OM user, not a "believer":
My first OM camera was the OM-4.
Latest modell, ten years produced, quite cheaply available, the ASA ring on the "right" place for guys like me who uses "other" cameras too - OK, the shutter speed ring is stil on the wrong place. Still right decision.
BUT: Do you really use all that metering stuff? "high" and "shadow" and "spot"? And if you do, how to manage it to photograph other than slow moving items than buildings, trees, or snakes?
I have difficulties to see all that micro-symbols below the finder, and never know in which "mode" the metering actually is. Except of course, I use "normal" metering. Or "manual" mode. (An OM1 would be enough for that) Or Automatic manual override (my finger nails are gone when using that feature, and perhaps a whole film is wrongly exposed 2 stops because you accidently set, or keep it wrong)
By another accident, I found out that the finder LIGHTNING is no longer working. (I'm sure it works when I bought the camera). It's one of very few SLR who urgently need a LIGHT in the finder. Mainly because the scales and signs are THAT small you barely can see them in bright daylight. Yes, scales. Ever had a car with that odd type of filling speedometer, no needles? Hot stuff in the 1950's, out of fashion about 1975 (I think VOLVO made one of the last). They ceased it for a reason: it's hard to see how fast the car actually is. It's also hard to see how fast the shutter actually should be on a camera. Bad luck that you MANUALLY engage the light, and the trigger is badly placed.
So starting on afternoon, or when taking pictures indoor, or in any other situation when exposure is critical, you see less or even NOTHING about it. Seriously, this camera has by a margin the WORST finder information system of all SLRs I know.
Plus: it eats batteries like a horse. Of all my 70 cameras this is the only one I need to reload batteries nearly EVERY TIME I go taking pictures with it. (Somedays, it is placed two months in a dark case. NO other camera will eat batteries under that conditions). To bad they lost the OFF switch! Or does Olympus made it even smaller than all the other micro fingernail tip contacts, that no user detected it in the last twenty years?
Bad luck too, the whole camera don't work without batteries. It lifts mirror (spoil one film frame) and then got stuck! When it happens the first time you think the whole camera is stucked and shutter needs to be replaced because NO other camera with dead batteries acts that way. all other just do nothing, decently saying "Sorry I cannot...." - this one screams "NOT ENOUGH BATTERY, IDIOT! CHOOOOKE!!" I'm sure I will hear that if I had the noiser activated (I deactivated this feature in order to save my batteries and nerves, due to the owners manual which I naturally own, and be able to read and understand)
Too bad, Olympus made everything in a different way than standard, say Pentax or Nikon. Too bad, making most of it worse than standard.
Was it TEN YEARS they build that odd camera, or even more? (TI included) ? Please understand me right: except the finder lightning, nothing may be defective with the camera. It just isn't right by design.
What was it, a serious case of unconvincibilty, like it was with Zeiss-Ikon?
Other companies doing it that way long enough may haven't survived completely. Good luck, just the OM system died, Olympus still alive. Make no mistake: film camera production wasn't ceased by a higher instance, just because customers in millions said "thanks, enough". Cosina still make film cameras with "new" (?) modells. Very sad for some of the best (performance-size/weight ratio) SLR lenses. But not so sad for very odd camera bodies. Too bad that a OM lens will not fit to a nice simple NIKON FE-2. If they had build such a camera maybe the OM series would be still in production.
I got a OM-1 these days..
*) I don't know if you native English speaking people have the term, "featuritis". For us, it simply means "too much of everything, or "every single engineer placed in the project had realized his personal highlight", either a lack of management or a "put this feature into it, too, it will attract a few additional buyers" attitude
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hans voralberg
Veteran
You may wanna ask John about that battery issue, sounds very wrong. And Chirs (chriscrawford) will be here soon to address the metering
jesse1dog
Light Catcher
Brilliant synopsis.
I think you have put me off getting an OM-4.
That will save me a bit of money towards a better lens for my OM-1.
Incidentally great picture of your camera - I like the lens!
jesse
I think you have put me off getting an OM-4.
That will save me a bit of money towards a better lens for my OM-1.
Incidentally great picture of your camera - I like the lens!
jesse
ferider
Veteran
I love my OM4. More intuitive than my Nikon and the Minoltas I had. My first camera was an OM2, the OM4 for me is like an OM2 on steroids.
I don't use the shadow/highlight features, but the spot meter, yes, all the time. The camera should do 1/60 without batteries.
The OM4 was relatively short lived and replaced by the OM4T which goes much easier on the batteries. On the OM4T, 1/60 or B work as off switch (they don't on my OM4, don't know why).
Your camera might benefit from a trip to John.
Nice lens you have there .... How many other manufacturers made a 21/2 at the time ?
Roland.
I don't use the shadow/highlight features, but the spot meter, yes, all the time. The camera should do 1/60 without batteries.
The OM4 was relatively short lived and replaced by the OM4T which goes much easier on the batteries. On the OM4T, 1/60 or B work as off switch (they don't on my OM4, don't know why).
Your camera might benefit from a trip to John.
Nice lens you have there .... How many other manufacturers made a 21/2 at the time ?
Roland.
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marcr1230
Well-known
the OM-4T was my go-to camera until I started reading RFF and got Leica-itis
never had a problem with the batteries. finder illumination is great. the spot/highlight/shadow is better for static subjects for sure.
prime lenses were small and sharp, never had an issue with the controls, although I primarily kept it on auto.
never had a problem with the batteries. finder illumination is great. the spot/highlight/shadow is better for static subjects for sure.
prime lenses were small and sharp, never had an issue with the controls, although I primarily kept it on auto.
Monz
Monz
I knew there was a good reason I got a OM3 rather than a OM4
I had difficulty with the writing in the viewfinder as well until I adjusted the dioptre dial and then everythinbg was crystal clear and very readable (in good light).
I had difficulty with the writing in the viewfinder as well until I adjusted the dioptre dial and then everythinbg was crystal clear and very readable (in good light).
Biggles
My cup runneth amok.
Started with an OM-1; added an OM-4 a few years later. Loved the spot-metering ability; loathed the almost unseeable telltales in its viewfinder. It also, if I remember correctly, ate batteries at a rate of knots, either by design or due to some switch that kept getting bag-activated.
After a while, I tended to use it as a tripod camera for portrait, for when I had time to squint, and because the exposure needed to get metered off a grey card. Kept the OM-1 for street and candid potraits at parties and such. Stopped doing formal portrait, sold the OM-4. Don't miss it a bit. Still have the OM-1. Not selling that one.
Were I to get a second OM- body, again, it'd be an OM-3.
After a while, I tended to use it as a tripod camera for portrait, for when I had time to squint, and because the exposure needed to get metered off a grey card. Kept the OM-1 for street and candid potraits at parties and such. Stopped doing formal portrait, sold the OM-4. Don't miss it a bit. Still have the OM-1. Not selling that one.
Were I to get a second OM- body, again, it'd be an OM-3.
Chriscrawfordphoto
Real Men Shoot Film.
The OM-4 ate batteries because of faulty circuitry. They fixed it later in the production so some do it, some don't. None of the Ti models eat batteries. I have 3 of them and they get used constantly. I change batteries once or twice a year in each depending on how heavily they get used.
I use the spot metering for everything. Centerweight metering is just a blind guess, for the type of things I shoot the centerweight meter is wrong 95% of the time. I don't bother with the highlight/shadow buttons. I use manual mode only and use the metering scale like a zone system scale. I am very fast with it, since I have had OM-4T cameras since I was 18.
I use the spot metering for everything. Centerweight metering is just a blind guess, for the type of things I shoot the centerweight meter is wrong 95% of the time. I don't bother with the highlight/shadow buttons. I use manual mode only and use the metering scale like a zone system scale. I am very fast with it, since I have had OM-4T cameras since I was 18.
Sonnar2
Well-known
Yes the Zuiko 21/2 is a reason alone to buy a OM camera.
It's almost rangefinder size, but there is no RF 21mm lens of that speed-- except the brand-new Leica Summilux for 4000 Euro, which isn't exactly RF size, more "Distagon size".
Of course, with an f/-stop as a matter of "get the picture, or don't", you don't ask for great resolution. It makes pictures at f/2, they are sharp when no big enlargement is asked for, and light falloff isn't terrific. This really astonished me -- of course I read all that Zeiss stuff telling that you need a bucket-sized wideangle lens to prevent light falloff with at least 72mm filter, so my first suggestion was a 55mm would horribly vignette at f/2. But it didn't. Anyway, at f/5.6, I think you will not see any difference to the "reference" Zeiss 21/2.8 Distagon --- which is waaay longer and heavier!
It's almost rangefinder size, but there is no RF 21mm lens of that speed-- except the brand-new Leica Summilux for 4000 Euro, which isn't exactly RF size, more "Distagon size".
Of course, with an f/-stop as a matter of "get the picture, or don't", you don't ask for great resolution. It makes pictures at f/2, they are sharp when no big enlargement is asked for, and light falloff isn't terrific. This really astonished me -- of course I read all that Zeiss stuff telling that you need a bucket-sized wideangle lens to prevent light falloff with at least 72mm filter, so my first suggestion was a 55mm would horribly vignette at f/2. But it didn't. Anyway, at f/5.6, I think you will not see any difference to the "reference" Zeiss 21/2.8 Distagon --- which is waaay longer and heavier!
erik
Established
Started out in '84 with an OM-3, later added a -4, and then a -1n, a 2n and have since replaced the -4 with a -4T. Love the system obviously. Like Chris, I use the spot metering all the time, the scale works great for zone system work, and great for slides too. Highlight/Shadow buttons, rarely. Never really, just press them sometimes when I'm messing around. The -4 developed some issues including the battery drain and went to Olympus service back in the day where they replaced the board with a 4T board and problems taken care of. Very reliable cameras, better than any of the Nikons I've owned or used at work, but my sample size is small.
Trius
Waiting on Maitani
Not exactly. Later model OM-4 bodies (before OM-4T/Ti) had revised circuitry that eliminated the battery drain problem.
And the batteries were SO expensive, eh? Even with the battery drain, HOW HARD WAS IT TO CARRY EXTRA BATTERIES? Little tiny things, costing next to nothing. Yeah, that's a problem compared to say, cancer. Just sayin ...
Trius
Waiting on Maitani
The 21/2 is one of the reasons (of many) I retain a stable of OMs. It is a BRILLIANT lens. Once I got the 21/2, I felt comfortable selling my Super Angulon 21/3.4. Now, I do miss the SA, as it is quite simply different from the Zuiko, and both have their unique strengths. Having both would not be a luxury, it would be a strength.
But the quality of the Zuiko was so high that it allowed me to sell the SA (and the rest of the M kit) when I needed the cash.
Sonnar2
Well-known
that's not my point. Of course it's easy to care spare batteries. My point was: of my, let's say 50-70 cameras, THIS one eats as much as the rest (or nearly). For a user just having one camera, he may get used to EVERY oddity with time. If the metering is so complicated that he miss lots of pictures he can get used to it too. But I'm not so patient. I'm used to cameras that handle very well, or getting used to a camera without need to a 40 pages manual read. This is impossible with the OM4. That's my point: oddity and featuritis. A spreading desease which has its ground in the 1980's. It can be studied on the OM4 camera. Just compare it to a Nikon FE-2.
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funkpilz
Well-known
aeolist
Member
does anybody still have that link, where some guy actually added a new battery compartment to his om4? It featured 2 AA batteries and could screw in the tripod mount. lotsa fun
John Hermanson
Well-known
It's amongst the oldest OM-4 that was never serviced by Olympus. If it had been serviced, and the complaint was battery drain, Olympus would have put in a lower drain board (if available). Great camera, great OM design. Cradle camera in left hand. Left hand controls f stop, focus and shutter speeds. Right handle controls spot, film wind and shutter release. You can shoot without removing camera from your eye. John, www.zuiko.com
rodt16s
Well-known
It was explained to me to check if you have the later 4Ti battery saving circuit in the 4. To turn the battery check on. If it shuts off by itself in 30 seconds, you have the 4T circuit (lowest drain). Otherwise you have the original (much) higher drain board (up to 7 times as high as a 4T). Never checked the validity of this statement though and I sold my 4 a long time ago once I had a couple of 4Ti's. I always remove the batteries when not using anyway as I'm not certain the drain even when set to B is actually zero.
ColinW
* Click *
Sonnar2,
I use an OM-4 and I love it. No problems with the viewfinder; I use the spot metering all the time and have used the highlight/shadow buttons on occasion. Yes, battery drain can be a problem: I just take them out at night and carry and extra set in my bag. I've had many cameras over the years and still have various OM's, the OM-4 is the one I enjoy most.
Looking at this post and others where you go on about Zuiko lenses; you don't really like Olympus gear do you? Why not sell it off and get something that keeps you happy?
I use an OM-4 and I love it. No problems with the viewfinder; I use the spot metering all the time and have used the highlight/shadow buttons on occasion. Yes, battery drain can be a problem: I just take them out at night and carry and extra set in my bag. I've had many cameras over the years and still have various OM's, the OM-4 is the one I enjoy most.
Looking at this post and others where you go on about Zuiko lenses; you don't really like Olympus gear do you? Why not sell it off and get something that keeps you happy?
shadowfox
Darkroom printing lives
From a casual OM user, not a "believer":
...
Too bad, Olympus made everything in a different way than standard, say Pentax or Nikon. Too bad, making most of it worse than standard.
Was it TEN YEARS they build that odd camera, or even more? (TI included) ? Please understand me right: except the finder lightning, nothing may be defective with the camera. It just isn't right by design.
What was it, a serious case of unconvincibilty, like it was with Zeiss-Ikon?
Other companies doing it that way long enough may haven't survived completely. Good luck, just the OM system died, Olympus still alive. Make no mistake: film camera production wasn't ceased by a higher instance, just because customers in millions said "thanks, enough". Cosina still make film cameras with "new" (?) modells. Very sad for some of the best (performance-size/weight ratio) SLR lenses. But not so sad for very odd camera bodies. Too bad that a OM lens will not fit to a nice simple NIKON FE-2. If they had build such a camera maybe the OM series would be still in production.
I got a OM-1 these days..
Wow...
Can't wait to read your OM-1 "review"
Chriscrawfordphoto
Real Men Shoot Film.
I've thought that myself. Only a fool keeps using gear he despises, and this guy clearly has a chip on his shoulder about Olympus. My guess is he doesn't really own or use any OM gear, the photo could have been lifted from someone else, and he's just trolling.